Suggs tore the biceps late in the Ravens’ Dec. 2 home loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He sat out the following week’s game against the Washington Redskins and was also rested in the team’s regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, a game that carried no meaning for the Ravens.

The NFL’s 2011 Defensive Player of the Year acknowledged that surgery on his arm was a legitimate possibility in the offseason but he was determined to play through the injury to help the Ravens on their playoff run.

Though his arm and his surgically-repaired right Achilles, which he tore last April, left him without the power and explosion that had made him one of the NFL’s best pass rushers, Suggs persevered and arguably had his best two games of the season in the playoffs.

In the divisional round against the Denver Broncos, Suggs had two sacks of Peyton Manning, 10 total tackles and a forced fumble. Then, in an AFC championship game rematch against the New England Patriots, Suggs had seven tackles.

He was relatively quiet in the Ravens’ 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, finishing with two tackles.

Suggs, 30, missed the first six games of this past season as he recovered from Achilles surgery. He finished with 22 tackles and two sacks in eight regular-season contests.